Jiang Yi wasn’t concerned about this. Ancestor Mingxuan had already placed his bet on Shao Yang, and the Sect Leader, in his secluded Cultivation on Qian Peak, had also conveyed his stance several times through Master Lu.

While he couldn’t entrust his life and limb entirely to the whims and schemes of Upper Cultivators, even if the Daoist Monarchs and True Monarchs were to use him, they would first have to ’fatten him up’.

Recklessly sending the Daoist—a figure tied to the very destiny of the Innate Sect—to his death would be anything but a wise move.

"With Miss Xiaoqiao by my side, what have I to fear from the people of the Immortal Dao?"

Jiang Yi chuckled. Above, he had True Monarch Changgui Fumingyu protecting his path. Below, he had Qiao Yu of the Sword Discourse Pavilion. On top of all that, he could ask the Celestial Book to divine fortune and misfortune.

To him, this Juku Continent was not some treacherous wasteland of near-certain death.

"When you reach the Flying Foundation Establishment Realm, I can teach you sword Spells and the Cultivation of the Metal Element."

Qiao Yu remembered that Jiang Yi possessed considerable talent for the Sword Dao, and she was still intent on turning the Innate Sect’s Daoist into a great prodigy of the Sword Discourse Pavilion.

"My Opportunity for Foundation Establishment must be on Juku Continent."

Jiang Yi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze distant.

After reaching the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer, he had addressed the Celestial Book with "I beg the Celestial Book," asking how long it would be until he reached Foundation Establishment.

The golden paper gave its answer—

A Supreme Dao Foundation requires forty-eight years to be forged.

’Forty-eight years is too long. I can’t wait.’

...

...

「White Jade City, the Divine Empyrean Thunder City.」

True Monarch Yingyuan Sijie, robed in purple and wearing a high crown, was residing in a bronze hall when his heart suddenly stirred. He began to divine with his fingers.

’Have all the Great Medicines of the Six Harmonies been gathered?’

He frowned. The boy with the surname Jiang, the one who had drawn the attention of Shao Yang, was actually showing signs of a great surge in destiny.

’Is another Yu Shenxiu truly about to appear?’

True Monarch Yingyuan Sijie presided over the great seat of the Thunder Core. The Dao of Thunder manifested as punishment, tribulation, and life and death.

He had a crystal-clear understanding of the tribulations borne by the teeming masses and trillions of Cultivators.

He raised two fingers of his right hand, slowly moving them to the point between his brows. A Dharma Eye opened, blazing with purple light and wreathed in electric serpents.

A moment later, True Monarch Yingyuan Sijie vaguely perceived a hazy figure. Thousands of dragons and serpents coiled around it, and a golden Dao Lotus swayed gently.

But when he tried to get a closer look, a single point of candlelight flared to life in the profound darkness, obscuring the figure. The boundless threads of causality and the layers of heavenly secrets were hidden away as well.

’The Innate Sect... the Daoist’s ever-burning lamp...’

A contemplative look flickered in True Monarch Yingyuan Sijie’s eyes. This Jiang becoming the Innate Sect’s Daoist meant that Ancestor Mingxuan had now fully entered the fray, interfering in the struggle between Shao Yang and Tai Yang.

’A game played by a Daoist Monarch has too many variables. It is not for me to divine the causes or alter the consequences.’

Logically, Emperor Ji, who resides in the Golden Position of Tai Yang, should see things more clearly than I do.

The fact that the Mixed Element Imperial Calendar and the Golden Palace of the Bright Dao remained silent meant the Emperor was not concerned about a successor for Shao Yang.

True Monarch Yingyuan Sijie pondered for a long while. Infinite mysteries surged from his Dharma Body, falling to the ground to become slithering electric serpents and swirling into the air to erupt as deafening peals of thunder.

’All beings drift through endless eons, cycling through life and death. Tribulations are infinite. There is the "Life Tribulation," which covers all that happens in a lifetime. There is the "Action Tribulation," which is the karma tied to how one conducts oneself. And there is the "Disaster Tribulation," which manifests as setbacks and ordeals.’

’The Emperor’s Merit has reached Perfection, so Disaster Tribulations cannot touch him. His Life Essence is whole, so karma cannot taint him.’

’Neither Disaster Tribulations nor Action Tribulations can shake Tai Yang. Only this Life Tribulation remains profound and unpredictable.’

True Monarch Yingyuan Sijie then recalled Ji Fuyao once saying that for Tai Yang to be brought low, it would have to endure a Human Tribulation.

’A Human Tribulation takes a life. It is unstoppable.’

This Great True Monarch of the Thunder Core deliberated again and again before finally making up his mind. His tone was inscrutable as he spoke:

"Allow me to give the Emperor a helping hand."

Before long, within the Divine Empyrean Thunder City, tempestuous clouds churned as a Daoist voice proclaimed an edict.

"Shao Yang shows signs of a potential resurgence. In the future, it will surely become a grave threat to Tai Yang."

"Issue the Demon-Purging Order! Should any Immortal Cultivator on the Dongsheng Continent see the one named Jiang, they are to use all their power to slay him!"